Men of Darkness
by he's124
Summary: Forced to pay off a family debt, Nami turns to a life of crime at night while also having to live a normal life by day. All seems to go well, until she draws out the attention of someone from a much greater gang. A cold-hearted killer? Or is there more to this 'Mugiwara' Modern day fic. Rated M for cold blooded murder, cursing and possible lemon
1. the man with the hat

**Men of Darkness.**

**A/N: Okay first chapter of a longer story I'm planning to write. This story will have M-rated contend and I advise you not to read what you can't handle.**

**One Piece is owned by** **Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 1.**

It was a dark and starless night. One of those that completely snuffed out all light the moon was shining towards the ground. A soft breeze flowed throughout the night air, apparently the only constant sound around for miles, as if to say: '_Hey guess what, everyone is asleep right now except for you!_' Two wheeled vehicles facing each other lit up the darkness, providing the owners with a few feet of sight. Not much, but enough to see what was happening right beside you. Directly between the light of both vehicles a woman stood, long orange colored hair reaching down to her back, and brown eyes set on the darkened horizon. She was covered in a thick fur coat as to protect her from the night's cold while wearing a sweater and blue jeans underneath. Holding a small briefcase in her right hand, she clung on to the handle as if her life depended on it. The soft salty breeze tickled her face and it helped relax the young woman, barely even noticing the occasional vermin that slipped through the darkness. It was a quiet night to say the least, aside from the annoying whispers that kept bugging her now and then.

"Oi, did you hear that?" one of them asked. A hint of fear was noticeable in his voice. "I know I just heard something move there."

"I think I heard it too" another confirmed with his legs shaking. "It didn't sound too friendly"

The woman let out an annoyed grunt. "_Can't they just shut up for two minutes?"_ Normally she could have taken it, having cowards around her who thought a rat scurrying by was scary, but not now. This wasn't a time to have them scream like little girls the moment one of those ugly pests showed their faces. Keeping her cool was hard enough without their contribution and quite honestly they were getting on her nerves.

"You know what isn't friendly?" the first coward inquired. "This guy were about to meet. Goes by the name of 'axe-hand', rumor has it he's a real monster."

"I know, right?" The other agreed again. "they say he can cut trough solid concrete with his right arm."

"He'd be able to break us like a toothpick! Why are we even waiting for that kind of a person?"

"Does the boss want us dead?!"

"Calm the fuck down!" the woman yelled, making the two drop their conversation. She had enough of them scaring each other like that. They were grown men almost peeing themselves and the 'Axe-hand' as they called him wasn't even here yet! "You guys seem to be forgetting that this is just a simple pay-out assignment. We're not fighting, not killing, just giving this guy his bribe and getting the hell out of here. So for the millionth time there is no need to worry!"

"As expected from our Nami-san!" The men swooned, both having lost their annoying coward-like attitude and replaced it with their own perverseness. "Even in the darkness her beauty shines the brightest!"

"Whatever" She shrugged. "Either way I wouldn't have cared if I lost you two.."

"So cold!" they both yelled in unison.

A third light appeared from the darkness, another car which slowly made its way over the docks. The woman cursed under her breath as the vehicle pulled up to her location. The transition was about to commence, and those idiots were still caught up in their antics. The moment they failed to keep their cool things could get messy, extremely messy on their part. After all, next to being a monster 'Axe-hand' was also immensely paranoid. Past experiences had thought her that much.

Out of the car stepped three men. Two small and a rather tall, intimidating man, having hair that was white-blondish and a tanned skin. A long navy-blue cloak was draped over his shoulder and reached down to his heels. More obvious about him however was a piece of steel that decorated most of his jaw, and of course the axe for a right hand which had earned him his nickname. He could be considered scary or intimidating to a normal thug or civilian, even if you counted out the obvious weapon he carried around. But to her it was just another day on the job.

"Morgan" she stated.

"Witch" his gruff voice answered. "So where's my money?"

"Patient as always." You could see him cast quick glances into the darkness before returning his gaze to her. So he was aching to get this over with quickly, huh? Paranoid indeed. She was just glad her little underlings were too afraid of him to screw this thing up. The suitcase was brought up to view. "Your monthly pay of twenty thousand Beri, as promised."

"Good." An eager hand started to reach out for said suitcase, only to have Nami pull out of reach for him.

"And in return" she spoke seriously "You and your little subordinates look the other way when our gang members do their 'business'."

Morgan looked a bit dumbfounded at the young lady, as in where she got the guts to make demands on him. He shrugged off the slight annoyance. "Of course, me and my men will make no report when Arlong's gang members make a move," he stated proudly. "I am a man of my word"

"Yeah right" she murmured while bringing the suitcase up again. _'coming from the corrupt police officer that's kind of hard to believe.'_ With an elegant swoop it flew through the air, only to be caught by Morgan. "Arlong seems to trust you a lot more then I do, so just take your money and go."

"How do I know it's really in there?"

"You'll just have to trust me on that" the obvious answer was. A grunt was his only answer. The same annoyance came up to him as this girl again tried his patience. She was enjoying this however, bringing a low-life like him back down to reality thrilled her. It was playing with fire, but she got some sick satisfaction out of it. And she wasn't done just yet. A sly grin crept up her face. "After all who would you turn to if you were denied your little slush fund?"

"Are you threatening to cut me out of my end of the deal cat burglar?" he growled, his face now darkened and full of rage, "Because I don't like to be double-crossed, not one bit"

"Oh really, what are you going to do about it mister police captain~?"

"How about I show you!" he yelled, surprising her at how close he suddenly got. He brought the axe for a right hand up above his face in an over the top way. The two idiots behind her began to cower and were moments away from passing out. However it did not startle the orange-haired woman, she had the counter attack on the ready. In the overly dramatic way this guy was trying to be intimidating gave the opposite effect.

"HONESTLY" a new voice thundered throughout the harbor "YOU GUYS MAKE SO MUCH NOISE."

Nami lost her composure for a second. There weren't supposed any other people here, especially at this hour. Someone knowing of their little tradeoff could spell trouble for both sides, be it a another gang or the authorities. Even more surprising to her however was Morgan's change of mood. The tall man that had been so full of himself just a minute ago, was now breaking out in cold sweat and seemed shocked by the new voice. "Y-you"

She looked over to the source of it all. On top of one of the many containers that decorated the harbor sat a boy. Or a man, she couldn't really tell. Confusion bobbed in her mind as she inspected this man-boy. His outfit seemed rather on the expensive side, even though some things didn't fit these cold temperatures. Him wearing sandals was an example of that. Of course he compensated that by wearing black stylish pants, with a suede red blouse that was kept in place by a black tie. Along with a black jacket that nicely covered said blouse. A long and seemingly expensive black coat covered his shoulders, which he wore like a cape, as in not having the arms in the sleeves. To top it off a straw hat decorated his head, wearing it so that most of his face was covered by it. Only thing that was visible was a deranged grin that seemed to wander on the edge of madness.

"Y-you.." Morgan finally spoke again. "Why are you here?!"

"Morgan" his tone was daring, mocking even. Considering his position that crazy version of a smile fit him. Being outnumbered by both herself and Morgan made him in no position to act like he was in control. Yet, it seemed like he was. The overwhelming presence that seemed to ooze off him made her want to crawl away with her tail between her legs. He had spoken one word, one word and already she felt like a smaller person compared to him.

"You didn't think you could outrun us, did you?" again with the mocking tone. This guy was definitely insane.

"I can do whatever I want!" Well that was a first, Morgan losing his temper. He raised his normal arm to point at the new man. "Shoot him! A promotion for the one who takes his life!"

One of the subordinates quickly acted, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the newly appointed target. One click of the trigger and a bullet whizzed through the night, hitting nothing but the air. The grin had never left his face. The spectators stood frozen in place, it had seemed as if this man literary dodged a bullet.

"I don't think you understand." The crazy man spoke again. He disappeared into thin air earning gasps from everyone safe from Morgan. "So let me explain." A vague blur was all she could see. Nami's eyes almost popped out their sockets. The crazy man appeared again and now stood directly between both groups. She hadn't even see him move.

"H-h-how did you?" was all she managed to bring out.

"You see my boss doesn't like it when someone tries to double-cross him" he said, blatantly ignoring her question. "…And neither do I." He disappeared again, this time appearing so that he and Morgan stood toe-to-toe.

He flinched, before bringing up his axe for a hand and raising it above his head, probably to decapitate the idiotic man. "Die!" It sounded more like a roar than a command, but his intention was serious enough. He was going for the kill. His action froze midway however, which caused Nami to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"**Shigan"**

A small stream of blood started to trickle down his mouth. A cry of pain was heard as the crazy man retracted his own arm, maniacal grin now gone from his face and replaced with a serious grimace. All life seemed to disappear from his eyes as they rolled back. Morgan the axe-hand fell backwards onto the cold ground.

Nami stood in awe as Morgan dropped, almost not willing to believe that a monster like himself was killed so easily. Her doubts faded however when she noticed a bullet-like wound on his chest. "_right in front of his heart"_ She thought. It struck her as weird, she hadn't seen the crazy man draw a gun of his own or anything like that, and right now it didn't seem like he was holding one. All she had noticed was him pull back his right arm a bit. Casting a glance at the arm her eyes widened in shock. He wasn't holding a gun, or carrying a knife or something like that. The shock came from the fact that he held nothing in his hand. All she could see was his open hand and an index finger which was covered in blood.

"So then" he finally said, crazy grin once again appearing on his face. "anyone who wants to avenge their fallen leader?"

Morgan's lackeys, well ex-lackeys stood cowering at their feet not even bothering to mourn the loss of their superior. They just snapped back to reality before running back to their car and hightailing out of the harbor. The other spectators watched with a sweat drop as the sound of the engine faded away.

"So then, on to the next problem at hand" he turned to the people still remaining at the location, his aura taking a rather dark presence to it as he scanned all three of them. "That would be you guys."

"get back in your cars" she hissed towards the other two "now!" They quickly complied by stepping in their vehicles, but did not drive away probably waiting for their superior. The crazy man didn't move when they acted, his gaze set on the orange haired girl. She presumed he knew they wouldn't take off without her. She still had something to do.

The men next to her had nearly dropped dead from fear, but Nami had overcome the initial shock that this man's actions had triggered. And to be honest, she was quite curious to who this new killer was. "Y-you" well, maybe not all of the shock. "Who are you?"

His head shifted slightly, straw hat never exposing anything more than his jaw. "you should mind your own business." His tone having lost mocking side, it being all serious now and full of killing intend. She took a step back at this change of behavior. He pointed at the lifeless body of the police captain behind him. "Because if you don't, you might end up like him over there."

"Yosh got it, stay away from the bad man." Nami replied with a nod. _But he won't be satisfied with that kind of an answer. _She thought. She would still have to somehow tell her boss how this little exchange turned into an assassination. Capturing the perpetrator certainly wasn't an option. The man's physical strength outweighed her own and any others here easily, so fighting in direct combat would be suicide. _Returning with an explanation like 'stay away from the crazy straw hat wearing guy who has superpowers' would probably not make a very valid excuse either. 500 Beri's say nobody would believe that._ No match in combat,so perhaps she could best him in the mental area. "But how are we supposed to know who to stay away from?" she asked while bringing a finger to her chin, trying to imply she was thinking. "When onii-san won't even say who he is?" To complete the act a small pout appeared on her face, as if her miniscule brain couldn't comprehend that one.

He retorted with a low chuckle, before getting back to his usual behavior. "You don't have to play dumb with me miss… cat burglar was it? You see judging by you conversation with Morgan just a few minutes ago, I noticed that you are at least _that _smart."

Nami's eyes widened in surprise. She took a step backward. He started to freak her out. Now it seemed this guy had the upper hand, not for not falling for the easy bimbo act she tried to perform but having at least some information about her, while she had none. "So you know who I am then?" she asked, trying to hide her surprise.

"burglar cat, bounty of 16 million. No picture available. As of yet real identity remains unknown." He quoted, no doubt having memorized her wanted poster. "Sound familiar?" It gave him even more leverage than before, and she was getting in a tight spot here.

"Someone's done their homework" she murmured, in a fake attempt to get a friendlier air between one another. "So now that you know so much about me it would be only fair that I got to know a few things about you, wouldn't you agree?"

"Fair enough, what would you like to know?"

"How about a name?"

He laughed at her. Not a chuckle or a grin, a full out laughing in her face as if she just told the world's most hilarious joke to him. She just pouted at him. For someone who killed without hesitation he sure had a joyful laugh. "You'd really think I'd give you my name? I'm not stupid you know." He seemed rather surprised at her question. The glare she sent him was enough to make him spill at least a little information. "I have an alias though." he pointed at the straw hat that still obscured most of his face. "Thought you would have recognized me by now. People mostly like to call me Mugiwara."

"Mugiwara huh? Never heard of your name before."

"Indeed, and I usually tend to keep it that way. That's also why I need you to do something for me."

"Was wondering why you hadn't stabbed me yet." She said dryly, now getting his intentions.

He chuckled "Don't worry, just give your boss a message." He turned his back towards her to imply that their conversation was over. His voice now went back to the almost demon-like tone. "Just tell him, if he tries taking over more of the East-blue district, then Baroque works will retaliate…. And not in a nice way."

"Baroque works? She asked surprised "What are you talking ab-"

"**Soru"** He disappeared again. This time not coming back into view or anything. Nami looked around to see if he was still around, but to no success. He was gone. She let out an exasperated sigh before turning to the back of her car and letting one of her goons drive off.

"Nami-san" he asked "Who the hell was that guy?"

"Just drive Take." Nami took out her cell phone and let out another sigh as she dialed the number. Thoughts racing through her head as she replayed the scene between her and the so called Mugiwara, hoping to remember something that might be useful. To no success. _"he won't be happy about this."_

* * *

Laughter was heard as he soared through the sky, wind blowing through his hair while looking down at the city below him. Small 'puffs' appeared as he kicked his feet into the air with enough force to keep himself in the air much longer than would otherwise be possible. The building that he searched for finally came into view. He kept pushing himself higher into the air until the desired altitude was achieved. A confident smirk appeared as he stopped kicking and landed on top off a small balcony. He silently opened the door before entering the darkness of the house.

"You're late Luffy." a gruff voice called from the darkness.

The sound startled him a bit. "Ah Zoro, still awake?"

A yawn passed through the silence "Yeah.. someone had to stay awake to make sure you didn't get yourself killed." Out of the darkness he could see Zoro rubbing his tired eyes.

He pursed his lips at him "You're a bad liar Bushido."

'Bushido' grunted "You're the last person I want to hear that from. And what's up with the codename, I thought you already finished the assignment."

"Aa I did" He said with a frown. "Just have to inform the boss."

"You do that, I'm going back to sleep" Zoro shrugged "Remember we have class tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah" Luffy declared as his eyes wandered to a small snail-like phone that rested on the coffee table. With a sad groan he plopped himself on the couch that directly faced the phone device. Stretching out his arm he picked up the speaker and dialed the number that was burned into his mind. It rung a few times without someone picking up. _'Well Jason I got him for you, I just wish t-'_

"Who the hell is this" a whiny, and much to cowardly voice called from the other side.

Luffy jerked away from his thoughts " You're as good in a mood as ever Spandam" he joked "Did you need a day off?"

"haha very funny, I assume you called to report your assassination? "

His body tensed at the direct question. "… Yes" he finally answered.

"Morgan is dead then?"

"Yes, he is."

"Good" Spandam responded, malice perfectly clear in his voice. "That will probably solve our little problem of the local police trying to double-cross us again."

"I guess so" he said, while resting his head on the palm of his other hand. "There's still the threat of those small gangs trying to make East-blue their territory. One of them was enough to make Morgan go rogue."

"I'll report it to the boss. Spandam out"

"Mugiwara out."

Luffy placed the speaker back on the snail-device and made his way over to his room. He grumbled while he threw his coat on the couch that stood in the corner. With a quick leap he jumped on his bed back first. A hand digging through his hair as a sick grin crept up his face. _'let's hope she gives through the message, for her own sake._

* * *

"...and that's what happened" she said.

"I see" A large, blue skinned man answered. He had a weird saw-shaped nose decorating his face, and a chin big enough that would fit four people. Large gills decorated his shoulders. While he wore a Hawaii-shirt and green shorts that didn't exactly scream gang leader off of him. Of course looks don't make the man. He sat behind a desk while tapping the wood in an incoherent manner, eyes staring into nothingness, clearly he was deep in thought. His face ripped back towards her location. "Is that all that happened?"

Nami winced a bit at the harsh tone in his voice. "No, he also warned me about something called Baroque Works retaliating against us."

His eyes widened slightly. His hands stopped tapping the desk. "Go home Nami" he said sternly. She looked a bit weird at him, probably wanting to know what his surprised gaze had betrayed. But something told her that it was better left alone for now. She nodded and took her leave. As the door closed another person was revealed from the shadows.

"So, what are you going to do about this Arlong?" a voice called from the shadows. "Now that we've drawn in attention from someone like them."

"Let's just say step one of my plan is under way" he confirmed with a smirk.

A person stepped forward, revealing himself to be a ray-like fishman. He let out a sigh. "I just hope you aren't messing with forces you can't control."

"Shut it, Kuroobi."

* * *

**AN: first chapter, not a lot of things get explained in the first chapter. It's annoying I know but that's why patience is a virtue. Not so much M-rated this chapter but I just rated M to be sure. Thanks for reading, if you liked it please give it a review and criticism is welcome. And yes I gave Luffy Rokushiki abilities and here I am explaining them.**

**Shigan (index finger gun) - The user jabs his index finger forward at a very high speed, creating a bullet like wound on his opponent and making a gun unnecessary. If used correctly the technique can penetrate skin, flesh and even bone. **

**Soru (shave) – allows the user to move at extreme speeds. When mastered the technique can make it seem as if the user disappeared, whereas someone who hasn't fully mastered it will still be noticeable to the eye.**


	2. new school and first impressions

**Chapter 2**

Nami woke up with a groan. The morning light tickled her face while the blankets she covered herself with kept any body-warmth from slipping out. Joints felt sore, and every muscle in her body felt like they could pop at any second. Her brain felt like a puddle as a massive headache took up most of her conscious mind. The only logical response was to roll over and go back to sleep.

"Rough night criminal?" a voice called from the door, much too sweetly.

She let out a tired yawn before stretching out her body, unintentionally hurting herself in the process. Nami flinched slightly at the pain her sore muscles caused. Her tired eyes focused on the source of the voice. "Good morning to you too, Nojiko." She spoke lazily.

The woman leaning in the doorpost smiled. She had long light blue colored hair that reached down to her shoulders that fit extremely good with her well tanned skin. A giant tattoo covered most of her chest and right arm. She wore a beige sleeveless shirt along with blue shorts that went along quite well with her purple high heels. "Breakfast is ready, and you have class today."

Another groan came from the orange haired girl. Long orange hair locks messily clung to her face and body. She shifted to her side before rolling out of bed, feet nearly giving out on her as she stumbled towards the bathroom. Nojiko let out a giggle as she slurred something around the lines of "be right down."

Half an hour later she emerged from a fresh shower, looking a lot better at that. The long messy hair was now combed nicely, the beautiful orange color making it shine, fiery and dangerous just like her personality, ears were decorated with pearl-like earrings to finish her look. She wore a much too short mini-skirt and a green and white bikini top, exposing more than enough of her legs, middle and chest.

Nami finally arrived downstairs, quickly sitting down at the table and starting to peel away at one of oranges Nojiko had placed there. She raised an eyebrow when a white blouse and tie were thrown on the table. "What are..?"she asked.

Nojiko glared at her sister. "Don't tell me you forgot Nami" she scolded with a serious frown "you know you have to wear a uniform to school."

She shrugged, but didn't hesitate to put on the clothing that was handed to her. She already had enough problems involving the educational system and wasn't set on ending this peaceful morning with one of her female teachers nagging on and on about how 'decent' she should dress.

Speaking of nagging, something seemed off. Actually this entire morning had been rather calm and without conflict. There was no 30 minute speech on how her clothing showed off way to much skin, and how it could have come to women being so shameless nowadays. No rant on how he wouldn't allow this as her father and he'd strangle any boy that dared come near her. Of course those giant rants were always accompanied by the overwhelming scent of coffee and cheap deodorant that just yelled 'cop' off of him. But none of that today. "Where's Gen-san?" she asked half interested while closing up the last button.

"He had to come in early today" Nojiko answered with a frown. She seemed troubled with the fact why her father had to visit his job even sooner than usual. "They said it was pretty urgent, seriously they acted as if someone died or something." It was meant as a joke of course, but she didn't miss the fact that her younger orange-haired sister nearly choked on her food at this little quip. "You know something, don't y-"

"I have to catch my bus" Nami stated quickly, before swinging her bag over her shoulder and storming out of the house.

The blue-haired women gaped at the closed door her sister had just ran out of for a moment, wondering for the millionth time why any twenty year old girl should be forced to undergo such a fate as Nami, before letting out a sigh. _'She's been forced to do this since she was twelve, she can handle herself."_

* * *

'_hell is about to break loose' _were the only words going through his mind at this moment. Grinning as he ran out of the kitchen with a piece of meat that would put a king-sized steak to shame, the raven haired man made his way over to the living room. A man with blond hair quickly followed.

"Luffy, give that back!"

"Hell no, I'm hungry!"

"I don't care!" the blonde man fumed "That's enough meat to feed me and the moss-head for three days and…You already finished it?!"

Luffy hummed in triumph as he licked his fingers clean of the sweet juices that remained, arrogant smirk present on his face. "Sorry Sanji, but I need my breakfast."

Sanji's face turned a shade of crimson red, making the rage that was building up in him more clearly visible. He took a step forward, his entire body shaking in anger, on to deflate immediately afterwards. "I guess it can't be helped with that monstrous appetite of yours" he sighed, while taking out a sigaret. "And I'm in way to good a mood today to get mad at you."

"I thought we were just entering a new college? Don't tell me your still exited over that."

"Indeed" the answer was rather seriously while he took a drag from the freshly lit smoke. "It'd be a nice variety of the whole gang life."

"Tch, seems like a waste of time to me. I don't even know why Zero insisted on us going to school."

"You know it's not that simple Luffy-kun."

The raven-haired male growled, obviously hating it when his friend added the "-kun" to his name. And also knowing damn well why they had to attend school.

"The boss wants a possible alibi for us" he lectured his friend like a child. "Should the police ever suspect our true identities we could potentially lead them towards him."

"I know." Luffy tried.

"Therefore we must seem like normal people of our age, so that we do not arouse suspicion." He blatantly ignored "And since most of our peers still attend school, it would only be natural for us to join."

"hai, hai." he now said half annoyed.

"And of course there's also…" he spoke so much more seriously suddenly, nostrils flaring and eyes sharpening into hearts. The furniture being thrown in every direction as he twirled throughout the room. "The Laaadieeees!"

"What a dumbass" Zoro's gruff voice called. Sanji immediately broke away from his twirling and shot a death glare at the moss-haired man. The anger that had vanished came back with interest and it looked he was about to leap at him. "we're late, and our bus is about to leave so we'd better hurry." He blatantly ignored the fuming cook.

"Well then." the raven-haired man said while making his way over to the balcony. "I guess we have to take a short-cut."

"Oi, Luffy…" Sanji half protested. Luffy glanced back, arrogant smirk present on his face before pushing his feet off the ground and plummeting himself towards the ground.

Zoro laughed, apparently finding some sadistic kind of humor in the fact that his friend jumped a 300 feet building. "I guess that is _the_ fastest way down." he said before taking the leap down himself.

Sanji let out a sigh, putting the cigarette out on his personal ashtray. "Idiots" he muttered.

* * *

Nami breathed heavily as she finally made it to the bus stop, panting all the way while she rested her hands on her knees. She had ran all the way from her house to where she was now, because quite frankly she didn't feel like involving Nojiko to what happened the night before. _"Damn that mugiwara bastard" _the only thought trough her mind was, somewhat blaming him for what had been her sister's curiosity. He of course was to blame for the murder of Morgan, but gangs usually responded that way to betrayal. Traitors and double-crossers who thought they could just do everything their liked would eventually be hunted down, that was common logic. Gangs protected their members, but nobody trusts a traitor. And with no trust comes no protection.

Her bus finally arrived, and she let out a small sigh of relief at the thought she finally going to have a chance to sit down. Maybe sneak in a quick nap, she was actually pretty tired. Luckily for her the vehicle wasn't packed like on some days, but rather deserted. She smiled softly at the fact that lots of seats were still free and she even got her own personal spot where she could sit alone and dream off. Sitting down, her eyelids became heavy rather quickly. _"I must be more exhausted than I thought. Luckily I can just sleep here the entire trip."_

That pleasant thought was shattered to bits however when someone sat down next to her. A male to be precise. A man who wore the same white-blouse and black tie she wore. A man who clearly wasn't very clever as to sit next to her.

She had to admit he wasn't half bad looking though, if not handsome. His face was good looking and a well-developed chiseled jaw gave it a nice touch. The messy raven-black locks of hair that brushed down into his eyes gave him a kind of badass, 'I couldn't care less what the world thinks of me' look. The rest of him wasn't something to complain about either. His shoulders were broad, and his figure seemed like it was being trained on a daily basis. The only reason she could see this though was the fact that he had neglected to button up his own blouse. And she did not dislike what she saw. Deltoids of which most people only dreamed, and a six pack that probably could have been used as a meat grinder. Though more noticeable was the giant X-shaped scar that rested on his chest. Had this been any other person, you would've instantly become nauseous at the sight of it, but for some unexplainable reason he made it work. As if to say _'Yeah I got cut up by a chainsaw, what about it?'_ He wasn't exactly buff, but his muscles were extremely well developed, making him seem more like a gymnast than some muscle bound oaf. She preferred men like those, guys who had worked for their packs instead of gaining them from genetics.

"You like what you see?" his voice suddenly rang, making her snap away from her thought. He was looking at her now, giving her a glance that lingered between lust and mockery, along with a playful smirk present on his face. She had been caught red-handed.

Nami felt slightly embarrassed, not over the fact that he had caught her staring at him, but rather that she had nearly drooled over this stranger like some horny schoolgirl. She was a grown woman for crying out loud, and showing a little class would prevent situations like these. Her fist smacked against the back of his head. "Button up, you idiot!"

He stumbled forward, nearly falling out of his seat at the surprising power that rested in her blow. "What the hell?" he said, rubbing the freshly made sore spot on his skull but didn't wait for her to tell him again. It surprised him that she even was able to hurt him in the first place. "You didn't need to punch me!"

"Act a little more decent then!" she half yelled in his face.

"Tch." He sneered, not even bothering to look her in the eyes. "Says the girl who shamelessly kept staring at my chest."

She huffed, turning her head in the opposite direction quite stubbornly and unable to suppress the pink hue that covered her face. That was the second time someone got the drop on her in these few days. "Jerk" she half mumbled.

"Whatever"

The rest of the trip was awkward to say the least, no words being said and the occasional sour looks given to each other which only managed to worsen the situation.

They arrived half an hour later, and Nami didn't waste any time when the bus stopped. She rushed past the guy that pissed her off for reasons she didn't understand, setting off into a full out sprint towards the entrance of the school. Students gave her weird glances as she passed but she didn't pay them any mind.

* * *

Luffy didn't feel like attending his class, so instead started to explore the new school. It was pretty impressive to say the least, the building was enormous on itself and the large yard decorated around it, gave off a calming effect. A square located right in front of the school was decorated by a beautiful fountain.

Still the place he seemed to prefer above all was the accessible roof that he found himself on right now, it being completely abandoned for the time being and giving him a great point to oversee everything that was going on. It was one of the perks that came as a result of his training, being able to find the spot that gave the best view, from which he could observe everything. And the few orange trees that decorated it gave enough shade on sunny days. He smirked softly to himself, having found the spot where he would probably spent most of his free time around the school.

He yawned, having napped the last hour and a half or so and made his way over to the stairs.

As he walked through the hallway, something familiar caught his eye. Strands of orange hair, flowing through the soft breeze of the building. They belonged to the same woman that he had seen this morning. _'her again'_ his mind dwindled. It wasn't like he didn't recognize her in the bus earlier, how couldn't he have, a pretty woman like her was easy to point out. he had just done his best to keep his cool under the situation.

It wasn't that weird for a girl her age to be part of a gang, the metropolis of a city was a messed up place to live. With crooks ruling the streets and a legal system that couldn't prove the simplest of cases unless the accused actually waved a gun straight in the judge's face, made for a not so friendly environment. Police forces and lawyers for the majority were either to afraid to act or just didn't care, most of them being corrupt anyway. Politicians were just puppets to the biggest of gang lords, and it didn't seem like they would be changing their personal empire into an actual city.

Most of the kids that lived in the city didn't have it well, being raised in such an environment wasn't good for anyone. A good example of that was the guy standing next to the orange-haired girl. His light-blue hair reached down to shoulder length, and by the looks of it he hadn't taken the effort to put on his uniform. Instead he wore red-and-white striped pants along with a white fur coat that looked like it was cut clean from a bear. Golden chains decorated his neck, and on his shirtless chest rested a tattoo of a smiley face with a cancel symbol crossed through it.

'_Jokers mark'_ he thought.

The guy smirked before leaning down and whispering something in her ear. She didn't react well to whatever he said, since she planted her fist full in his face.

"You bitch!" his angry scream sounded "You will regret that!"

"Whatever smurf" she scolded annoyed, having to restrain herself from punching him again. "just tell that pig of a Bellamy to leave me the hell alone." A sigh escaped her lips, and the anger around her slowly deflated as she took off in his direction. A small smile formed on his face, before turning awfully mischievous. Even though the guy was alot taller than her, even though she wasn't a monster, even though the guy wore the mark of Joker she still attacked him. _"She has guts."_

Her posture faltered as their eyes met, face becoming slightly red while she increased the pace. A blonde girl awaited her at the end of the corridor and she gradually came to a stop as they started talking. He just presumed they knew each other. What was surprising however was that same blonde turning her head towards him and started to laugh weirdly. Giggling to be precise, and for some reason this confused him.

"Luffy!"

"Ah?" was all he managed to bring out, before receiving a full kick to the head. Instincts kicked in, and he quickly shot up ready to counter the new attacker. He stopped however, when his eyes registered the blonde hair and curly eyebrow. Unlike himself the man wore his uniform properly. "Itee, what was that for Sanji?!"

"You bastard" the blonde man seethed "We had psychology together first period, where the hell were you and that Marimo idiot?"

"Didn't feel like it."

"What's with t-"

"I agreed to enter this school" he spoke slowly while rubbing once again made sore spot on the back of his head. That was twice today damnit! "because I was forced to enter. Just because I have to go here doesn't mean I have to actually attend class!" another bump to the head quickly followed.

"Even so, you could at least show up at the first lesson, ya bastard."

"I'll go next time, I promise~" he whined, wincing in pain.

"Tch. You'd better…" the other threatened. "By the way where's Zoro?"

As if on cue, the green haired man emerged from one of the hallway doors, having an unruly expression on his face. His uniform was worn in the same fashion as Luffy, messy and with not the slightest intend to look neatly. Top buttons were undone, and it looked like he had slept in it for the last three days. Just like with his friend the mandatory tie hung loosely around his neck. The small scar that decorated his eye immediately gave an impression that this guy wasn't to be messed with. "Where the hell am I… Oh it's you guys."

"Ah Zoro-kun" the blonde mockingly spoke. "lost again I see."

"Urusai, it's because this building is so freaking gigantic."

"Mattakun, how hard is it for you to admit that your sense of direction is zero…"

"Why you!"

Their arguing continued, and Luffy just watched them with interest, probably wanting to see if their scuffle turned into a fight or not. However something seemed off about the newly arrived man. "Oi Zoro whats that red spot on your neck?" he said, finally noticing the small irritated spot on his friends skin.

"Eh?! T-that's nothing." However, a small reddening of the ears was enough to tip his friends off.

"Don't tell me that you've already found yourself a girlfriend on the first day, Zoro-kun~" he teased, laughing mockingly at his friend.

"Say whatever you want" The man without direction spoke, not really wanting argue at this point. His stature suddenly became more serious. "I received a message from Spandam."

The raven haired man's laughter ceased immediately, his aura taking an almost demon-like form. "I see."

* * *

Genzo had never been the strongest man that had roamed the earth, never been the famous wealthy man most people dreamed of being. No giant bags of money, no people wanting his life. Just your average guy, who lived your average life. He had been fine with that. He preferred his healthy brain above using raw strength to work out his problems. He however did not prefer his sleep being interrupted at 6 in the damn morning to get to his job. Probably to get one of Morgan's _'justice' _speeches. The man never knew how to shut himself up after he had been promoted to a captain. Just because he outranked him, didn't mean he was better than him.

"Yo Genzo-san" a new voice called.

Genzo froze in his thoughts, clearly irritated by the rat that had invaded his office. "Nezumi" he silently answered.

"Now now, no need to give me the cold shoulder old man" he grinned devilishly "After all, it isn't every day we get a chance at promotion."

He looked rather surprised at this "promotion?" the question on the tongue was.

"didn't you hear? Morgan finally kicked the bucket, night patrol found 'm dead in the harbor this morning. And Momonga wants his replacement elected by the end of the day."

"Morgan's dead?" Genzo asked genuinely surprised. Despite being a selfish son of a bitch that didn't give a crap about anyone, Morgan was a powerful person. His strength easily surpassed that of normal human beings, even going as far to take down Kuro of the thousand plans, one of the most promising gang leaders in the entire East-blue district. That probably being the one reason why he made it to the captain rank. He wouldn't go down easy, at least not at the hands of the usual thugs that roamed the streets. "_who could have done such a thing"_

"Yep, had the same puncture bullet-like wound we've been seeing alot lately. "

"So they attack officers without reason now?"

"Well knowing Morgan, what he was doing over there wasn't exactly innocent or without reason. Oh and not they, but him. All the evidence once again leads towards the Mugiwara."

Genzo let out an annoyed grunt "Not this idiocy again Nezumi, the return of the Mugiwara is just a stupid rumor."

"Just how long are you going to live in denial Genzo-san?" the whiskered man mused while he sat down on his desk "There have been multiple occasions where these 'rumors' as you call them fit the Mugiwara's portfolio… Even after the guys higher-up officially revived his bounty you still deny his existence."

"The real Mugiwara died two years ago." He snorted "You know this just as well as I do."

"You really are a stubborn old man" Nezumi sighed "that's probably the reason why I will get promoted to captain and not you."

Genzo clenched his fists, a vein beating on his forehead. "Listen here you little brat, there is no way in he-"

The ringing of a phone interrupted his outburst. The anger around him vanished, forgetting the little squabble with his colleague for now. He reached out for the speaker which was conveniently placed next to the den-den mushi that rested on his desk. "East-blue police force, this is Genzo speaking"

"_H-hello?"_a frightened voice barely whispered from the other side_ "P-p-please help us, these men are i-insane." _Her voice sounded scared, you could hear she was just clinging on to the last of her nerves, and well before the point of screaming_. _

"Calm down miss" his voice reassuringly spoke. " Please tell me where you are and help will be send to your location."

"_I-I-I'm at t-the Extol bank…T-t-they shot the security guard… oh god I think he's dead, please hurry!"_

"_Keep it down over there!" a _new voice yelled._"Wait is that a phone? You flashy bitch, you're calling the cops aren't you!"_

"_N-n-no please… I-I-I was just calling my husband… no please don't!"_

A gun-shot was the last thing he heard before the line went dead. "Fuck." he muttered under his breath. "Nezumi, I have to take care of this 'situation'" He said as he put on his coat. "we'll finish this conversation later."

Nezumi waited until the sound of Genzo's footsteps no longer could be heard, then took out a small den-den mushi from his pocket and dialed a number. "The clown made his move" he muttered into the speaker. "so the police forces should be busy for a few hours."

"_Shahahaha. Good…"_

* * *

"This is the place?"

"Ah, Extol bank. Spandam told me someone was stupid enough to try and rob it."

"I'm surprised we even got here so quick, especially with you leading us here."

"You shut the hell up, dartboard brow."

"You wanna go, Marimo?!"

"Cut it out, the both of you" a third voice ordered. "Bushido, is there any information on the people robbing it?"

"Well the description wasn't very detailed... Something about these guys having a sort of circus-fetish. Their leader has a bounty though, goes by the name of Buggy the clown."

"Prince, take care of their get away. Bushido you're with me."

"Hai." Both replied in unison.

"**Soru" **

The three of them vanished from their rooftop, and appeared on the street below. The blonde man took off in his own direction, leaving his fellows behind.

"You ready?"

"Have I ever not been?"

"I have yet to see the day. " the straw hat wearing man grinned devilishly. "**Rankyaku" **he said, before kicking the air extremely fast, sending out a compressed air projectile towards the wall in front of him.

"**Pound Ho"** Bushido spoke after drawing one of his swords. Swinging it in a circular motion, an air projectile of its own was send out. The wall crumbled under the immense cutting power of the two, falling inward to the building.

"What the flash?!"

"Buggy the clown, you will regret entering Baroque Works territory…"

* * *

**AN: Alright that was chapter 2. Did you like it or did you think some things could be improved? Give it a review. Enjoy this story and are you curious what will happen next? please follow or favorite, or do both. **

**New ability's this chapter: **

**Rankyaku (storm leg): The user kicks the air at an extreme speed, "cutting" it and sending out a sharp compressed air blade that can easily slice through objects and bring great damage to the human body. **

**Pound Ho (pound canon) : originally the "Sanjuroku pound ho", but I didn't think Zoro would need to use that much power to cut a wall. But anyway the user uses his sword to cut the air, performing a circular slash to initiate it. This technique too sends out a sharp compressed air blade that easily slashes through objects.**

******AN 1/4/13 : I adjusted some of the parts that slipped past my grammar correction, apologies for not taking them out earlier, my english is just kind of bad like that. I guess I uploaded it a little too soon.**


	3. Men of darkness chapter 3

**A/N: Oh hello, didn't see you there. No, no don't mind me… just updating this story after a month or three. Hey that sort of rhymed, is that an excuse for making this update so ill timed?... Okay, I'll stop. **

**In all seriousness, I haven't been able to update for so long because well life had pretty much been bringing me down the last few months. My grades were dropping, work was going bad and if that wasn't bad enough out of frustration I sort of started to neglect my friends. So to make time to fix my mistakes I had to let go of writing for a little while. Good news though my grades a going up again and all was forgiven after a few beers with the guys. However this will not stop me from taking another 2 week absence from writing, since exams are coming once more and I intend to keep my grades up this time. **

**Finally, when the two weeks are over I will try to make up for my absence. I'm going to start a second story here, one that will follow the canon One Piece world. Ya know, pirates and stuff. (secretly I just had a good idea for a story and don't want to limit myself to writing for one story the entire time. But hey you don't know that :P)**

**Anyway enjoy chapter 3, even though the writing can be a bit rusty.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"_I'll make a deal with you then… one hundred million Beri."_

"_O-o-one hundred?"_

"_Ah, one hundred million Beri. That is what this neighborhood and its inhabitants are worth to me. I enjoy ruling over you all, but there is nothing in this world more important to me than money. So bring one hundred million Beri's before me and I will gladly give control of it to you."_

"_A-a-and you'll release her?"_

"_Ah, of course. When I say I'll do something I do it. I am a man who keeps his promise after all." _

…

"Excuse me" the innocent question called her back to reality."May I have your attention please."

Her scribbling at the half torn piece of paper stopped, as the attention now went to the voice that had seized the attention of the entire room. It was a man, and judging by his clothing he was an assumed teacher. Though that was debatable. His slim frame was covered with a cheap suit that seemed like it hadn't been cleaned in a while, and the shirt underneath decorated with numerous coffee stains that barely got covered by the worn-out tie around his neck. Whoever he was, he didn't seem very wealthy or hygienic. He wore round glasses that were a bit too large for him, as it kept slipping of his nose every now and then. _"Being a teacher here apparently doesn't pay that well" _she thought. His eyes may have looked somewhat empty, but she could see right past that and into confidence that hid behind it. She looked at him, half interested while resting her head on the palm of her hand.

"Ah good, now that I have your limited span of concentration.." He smiled a little excessive, the odd confidence shining a bit more brightly. He was acting really weird, as if his thoughts were elsewhere and he could care less about what they thought of him. "Then allow me to introduce myself." The palm of his right hand was brought up, readjusting the glasses that had started to slip from his nose once again. "My name is dr. Kurahadol, and as the name suggests I have a professional masters degree in the art of chemistry. Something which at least the half of you will not accomplish." He then turned to his desk, and took out a small notebook from his suitcase after taking a seat. "Now that we have introductions out of the way, open your books at page thirty-one and make the following assignments. Or do whatever you want, I don't really care."

She was taken aback by the harsh tone in his words, sure most teachers wouldn't actually bother holding their students hand unless they needed help, but this guy didn't seem the least bit interested in his teaching job. The one thing he did was stand there and tell them how much he didn't care about what they did. Not that she minded, she never needed help.

A half an hour passed, most of which was spent finishing her drawing at the paper. Her phone went off, and immediately she cursed. _"did he have to call now of all times?"_ Apparently Kurahadol had noticed too, since the completely void of emotion gaze went from the small book to her. For just a teacher he sure had sharp senses. A scowl formed on his face. "Out." He barked.

She was willing to argue, but decided not to at the last second. The tone in his voice had said enough, he wasn't set on changing his mind. Besides if that someone was calling she couldn't afford to miss it. So instead of throwing a fit she accepted defeat for now and left.

Once outside she quickly pulled out her phone, and went to answer one of her latest worshippers. One of the things she hated doing most about doing this job. The mission was simple enough. Go step up to the idiot in question, make him crazy about you, convince him to do something stupid that brings in a ton of dough, then rob him blind just after the police pins everything on said person. She didn't know exactly why she had to go and keep this local loser wrapped around her finger though, there were much richer and more capable gang leaders she would be able to seduce no problem. But if Arlong wanted her to do something she did it, no questions asked. She was in no position to defy him anyway. So swallowing her pride and a good part of her dignity she went over to what she called her 'bimbo mode.'

"Hello?" she asked, knowing full well who was on the other side.

"_Hey there hotness, guess who?"_ she could puke at the lustfulness in his voice.

"Buggy-sama~! How is my favorite crime-boss in the whole wide world doing?"

"_You weren't returning my calls"_ He hadn't listened to her, just like he always did. _"what's up with that?"_

"I'm so sorry Buggy-sama~" she made the quick excuse. "Isn't there anyway I can make it up to you?"

"_I know how you can make it up to me. Why not come over to the hideout tonight? The men are out by then, so it would just be the two of us…"_

"Gee, I don't know~" she swooned, the fake embarrassment in her behavior preformed perfectly. "I'm a woman who is used to being treated by wealthy men after all. But I've heard of this little place called the Extol bank, if you robbed for me I would be ever so grateful, I would do anything to repay you~" It was a dull and horrible line she knew, but it was enough. His perverted thoughts would take care of the rest.

And sure enough they did. She could hear the obvious snickering on the other side of the line and the presumable sound of a hand wiping away at a bloody nose. "Oh you bet I will. Come meet me and the guys by that Extol bank later, I'll steal as much money as you want. _Yosh Cabaji, Mohji get ready for the score of a lifetime!_"

With that the girl hung up, the phone dropping back into her bag as she had the fight back the nausea. Though slight smirk tread her face as the idea of robbing a bank came into view, seeing how she would leave those circus-wannabe's penniless at the end of the afternoon.

* * *

Zoro didn't understand at all. Why did they even make it so freakishly huge, there was no way they could ever take up all that space. There was a limit for how big a place was allowed to be. It was all a waste of money in his opinion, and it was starting to work on his nerves not being able to find his place of destination. The school building was new and for some reason kept changing its corridors every five minutes just to bug him.

He was lost. The green-haired swordsman who rarely felt embarrassed or the need to adjust himself to flaws had ironically in no way the sense to get from point A to B. He had psychology first period, and he hadn't the slightest clue where. When he went for the roof he ended up in the east wing of the school and when heading for the first floor he would end up outside. He groaned out in pure frustration, finally reaching the limits of his patience. "Why the hell did those guys have to get lost in the first place!" He yelled in denial, completely blaming his lack of direction on no one in particular. "Are they idiots?"

A small chuckle reached his ears, immediately alerting the young swordsman. Hands immediately went to his side, ready to counter a possible ambush. Only to have a shock of realization go through him as the familiar feeling of the sword hilt didn't brush against his hands. He momentarily cursed himself. "_Right, at school… no katana."_

"I see you still haven't changed over these years…" her calm, elegant voice spoke to him, the tone making him nearly drop down. A voice too familiar, too well known to have him relax. If she was here, her 'specialty' could spell more than just trouble for him.

Arms sprouted from his chest, back and shoulders, disembodied arms from which shape looked like they belonged to a female. So it really was her. He produced a surprised sound as they started to roam his over his frame, small delicate hands, feeling his skin, touching his muscles. Making him grunt as a single hand traced the small scar on his eye. "No… I might have to take it back, maybe you've changed a bit after all."

"What do you want?" It wasn't really a question, more a demand for an answer.

"hmm… what do I want?" the female voice chuckled.

A slight pain emitted from his neck, attacking his senses with long forgotten fervor. Lips brushing past his skin, nipping it greedily. The sensation of it all was far too familiar to him. He could feel them curl upwards against him, her finding some distinct entertainment in this situation.

He brought his hand up abruptly, swinging it towards his neck in the same motion that would be used to swat a fly. He knew her ability's well, having seen them in action many, many times. Through that he had noted the interesting fact that even if the limbs she summoned weren't permanent and could be erased in the blink of an eye, they would still make the user endure the same pain as they would if the genuine one was hurt. It wouldn't hurt her body physically, but her brain would still register the signal of her nerves and pain would be felt.

His open palm hit nothing though, and only slapped against the tanned skin of his neck. From the corner of his eye he could see the pinkish-white sakura petals drop onto the floor and dissolve into nothingness. He grunted in pure annoyance.

The petals appeared once again, a fully grown female torso sprouting from the nearby wall this time, head lifted to meet the eyes of her target. She smiled, reserved but honestly, one that fit her character well enough. "fu fu fu… Giving me the cold shoulder now, are you?" she chuckled "How horrible of you, considering our past."

"Stop trying my patience… woman" he glared at her "What do you **want**?"

"My, my, straightforward, aren't we?" Legs sprouted from under her, making her feminine frame complete. She walked to him, unaffected by the dark presence that radiated from the green haired man. She stopped a few inches away from him, standing toe to toe now. He noted now, that she had changed as well. Her body was curved more beautifully, shaped like an hourglass-figure that would be envied even by top models. Her raven black hair was now pulled back, revealing a mature and attractive face which was decorated by two icy-deep blue eyes that stared back into his. She didn't wear a uniform like him, so either she wasn't enrolled here or she just didn't care to put one on. Instead a long pinkish colored sari-skirt covered most of her legs, while a purple leather vest decorated her torso. Casting a glance down he could see it was only partially zipped up, revealing a great deal of cleavage. He gulped, silently cursing the fact that his defenses had slipped for a second. "I want back in." she demanded, dropping her playfulness, but still remaining relatively calm.

"You know I don't decide that." He answered obviously , feeling like it wasn't necessary to ask something like that this up close.

"Yes, I know" she said interesting enough. She placed a hand on his cheek, without having one sprout with her ability. "But you have connections to the one who does. "

"You want to talk to Luffy… through me" He stated matter-of-factly, not even fazed by the physical contact.

"Yes… If I went to him just like that he would outright reject my offer, but with you.. he trusts you and Sanji, listens to you… I'm not asking you to force him into inviting me back, just to let him hear me out."

"What makes you think I'll do that?" he growled at her.

She turned away from him, hand leaving his face. "Because I know you Zoro" she spoke "I know you'll do it." With that she walked away, letting him become even more agitated with her.

"If this is so important to you why not assault the ero-cook?!" he yelled, finally losing his patience. "Why go through that much trouble to have me say it, when that idiot wouldn't deny you even for an instant?"

She glanced back, the playful tint in her eyes clearly visible. "And let you get away with what you did to me those two years ago? Not on your life.. Bushido-san." With that her entire body dissolved into the same sakura-like petals from before. He stood agape as she completely vanished away, finally realizing that she too trained her ability._ "just fucking great."_

* * *

The thought of spending the entire afternoon stealing a criminals money seemed a pleasant thought, but for the reasons it was needed didn't earn her affections. Of course this guy had to be broke, and of course he was more than willing to rob a bank if it meant the slightest of chances with her. Well things weren't as bad as they could get, sure that Buggy guy was an idiot for letting himself be fooled by her charms but he at least was stupid enough to not suspect a thing. And anyway the guy didn't nearly seem as annoying as…

"Hey babe!"

…That guy. "What do you want Sarkies?" she asked, not even bothering to turn around and face him.

"Bellamy is looking for you." He spoke , the menacing tone giving reason for the irritation to turn to anger. "And where's that cute little friend of yours, Kaya was it?"

"What do you want from Kaya?" the girl asked, now finding a reason to turn her attention towards the blue-haired man. Her voice was no longer annoyed or irritated, just plain threatening. Looking at him then she could see a new tattoo decorating his bare chest, one that hadn't been there before. The cancel symbol crossed through a smiley face seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Well it didn't matter, she knew Sarkies wasn't the kind of guy who was capable enough to actually have some kind of influence on his fellow nakama.

"Nothing, nothing" he laughed, while bringing his hands up in defense. "She just aroused my interest is all, being the cute little thing she is."

She didn't care that this guy found himself a gang to hide behind or that she was a criminal herself, the intentions this guy had with her friend obviously weren't friendly. "You stay away from her." She threatened him.

He laughed, the ignorant mocking laughter bringing her anger to whole new levels. "I don't know what's funnier, the fact that you're trying your friend the best thing that'll ever happen to her, or that you think you can actually threaten me."

'_calm down girl' _the voice of reason in her mind called out. The guy was just trying to be intimidating, something he didn't exactly succeed in. He more pissed her off than make her scared of him. So staying calm and collective was the logical course of action.

"No worry's though, I won't hurt you. Bellamy seems to have taken an interest you." He smirked, leaning forward until he their faces came to the same height "And who could blame him with that smoking body of yours. I wouldn't mind taking a swing at that myself… He doesn't need to know what happens between the two of us… C'mon how much, everyone has their price."

Okay, forget calm and collective for now. A vein popped on her forehead, as her now clenched fists began to itch in irritation. Angry was an understatement of how she felt towards this man. So she struck forward, planting a punch firmly between his eyes. And catching him off guard, he stumbled backwards while a hand went to the blinding pain in his face. "You bitch!" his angry scream sounded "You will regret that!"

"Whatever smurf" she scolded annoyed, having to restrain herself from punching him again. "just tell that pig of a Bellamy to leave me the hell alone." A sigh escaped her lips as the anger slowly deflated. And having quite enough of the guy she left, walking off to anywhere she seemed fit.

Nami faltered as her eyes met familiar ones, belonging to the man she had seen this morning. _"him again"_ He was smiling at her, a smile so devious that it seemed to infuriate her in the same way as earlier today. Even when smiling, he seemed to bring her off of her game. _'he's mocking me'_ She thought. Even worse, from the looks of things he had witnessed the little scene between her and Sarkies. Face red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger she brushed past him, failing to keep up the stature she had a few seconds ago.

Her pace diminished as she caught the sight of blonde hair, the locks belonging to a rather small and delicate girl. She wore the same uniform as Nami, but didn't fill out as well in certain places and didn't quite look as confident as her. The girl smiled nervously at her, in a somewhat apologizing manner.

"Nami, I'm sorry a-"

"No need to worry" the orange-haired woman dismissed her apology with a simple wave of the hand. "I know that guy freaks you out, and that he keeps bothering you."

"B-but he doesn't seem like someone who you can talk out of things with words alone."

"I can take him." She stated, not finding any reason to feel intimidated by someone like him.

"A-arigatou." The blonde smiled, more reassured and maybe even a tad safer now."I-I was planning on going shopping this afternoon with Vivi. Would you like to join us? It's been a while since we hung out."

"I'm sorry" the orange-haired girl returned with genuine sadness. "But I'm kind of swamped with other activities this afternoon."

* * *

"Buggy the clown, you will regret entering Baroque Works territory. "

She could only gape at the seemingly limitless amount of confidence he seemed to emit. His voice had been so sure, so completely void of doubt or hesitation. The intent behind it had been sure enough, he was planning to make every last one of them pay for their actions, and no one was going to stop him. And she felt compelled to believe him.

The entire audience was now focused on the two new people that had just entered the building. Their presence alone being the source of attention. To make things worse there was someone with him this time, and by the looks of things the new guy wasn't just to increase the sheer numbers on his side. His outfit seemed somewhat alike to the Mugiwara's, a black suit that decorated his frame like a second skin. Instead of the latter though his attire was without the cloak, and instead of a red blouse, a white one was worn. A pitch-bandana covered the top of his head, while a scarf covered the lower half of his face. The only thing visible of it was the one unscarred eye. Three swords were latched trough a belt at his side, all of which seemed quite expensive. They weren't to be messed with, that much was visible to everybody.

"Who the hell are you two!" Well almost everybody. Of course the clown had to have missed the obvious blood lust that practically leaked out of them. "What do you even think you're doing here anyway, this is our score!"

Still this change of situation could have its advantages. One of the bystanders had decided to try and be brave and had tried to call the officials on their little robbery. Buggy hadn't taken kindly towards such an action and much to her displeasure he had shot her. This could be the perfect distraction she needed. While those two groups fought it out, she could tend to the woman if it was still possible. It was too late for the security guard though, she had known that the second he was shot. The look in his eyes had said it all, the gunshot had been fatal. She knew that kind of look far too well.

The Mugiwara's head shifted slightly, the straw-hat covering his face never giving away an inch. There was no immediate reply, only a movement if the eyes. He was taking in the situation. His vision scanned past the newly recruited hostages, the security guard who showed no sign of life, until it reached the sight of a bleeding woman on the floor where it froze for a second, before its full coldness turned towards Buggy. "Why are we here?" he repeated, a voice completely void of emotion. "That's what we should be asking you. I'm having a lot of questions for you actually.". The grin that seemed to emit madness vanished, and was replaced with a serious frown. "But I can't bring myself to question scum like you."

"Scum?! Who the hell do you think you a-"

"**Shigan"** There was no intent to let him finish, no restraint in his attack. In a single motion an index finger tore through skin, muscle, flesh, until it finally came out his back, successfully impaling the clown on his arm.

The audience held in their breath, knowing not how to process what just happened. The suit wearing man with the straw-hat had come out of nowhere, stepped in and stabbed someone barehanded.

His own eyes widened in shock. He hadn't gone easy on him with his powers, but he never had intended to impale the person. It just seemed off. Never once did the ordinary shigan technique have this much power in it. Buggy's jaw had dropped, the life draining from him entirely as the part of his body split apart from his torso. He hadn't meant to go this far.

"_Just kidding_."

A sharp pain emitted from his side, one that made him ground his teeth in agony. How had he missed it, there had been no sound of movement and no feeling of ill intent coming from anyone around them.

Casting a glance to the side, his eyes turned wide as saucers. A detached hand holding a dagger floated through the air, it having plunged itself into his back and making blood start to stain his already crimson blouse. "W-what the"

"Gyhahahaha" Buggy's laughter howled trough the room, a now surprising grin present on his detached upper body as that now too floated through the air. The hand pulled out the sharp knife causing more blood to spill. "That sure was a shock, you having a such a flashy technique that could cut a man barehanded. Would've worked too, had you not been up against me."

Mugiwara clutched his side in pain, a half attempt to stop the bleeding. _"Damnit, I was too careless."_ After a moment realization struck him finally. "Ah, I see. You're a devil fruit user." the raven-haired spoke, still struggling against the pain. "Should've known."

"That's right. The Bara Bara no mi." The clown laughed more broadly, reveling in his victory. "For any attack that cuts, pierces or slices, I'm its worst enemy. I'll just split apart at the contact, making it ineffectual. For you see, I am a splitting human." His vision shifted towards the green-haired man who still stood in the freshly made doorpost. "You there. Not gonna save your friend over here? Not that those swords will do you any good."

The Swordsman kept his stature, and focused his one good eye on the newly appointed challenge. "And interrupt your fight?" he said with a bored expression. "No way in hell. He'd never let me live it down."

"What the heck are you talking about, your friend is down for the count. He'll flashy die."

"Another one, huh?" The Mugiwara nearly laughed out of pure excitement. "That suuure~ is interesting"

"Again, what are you talking ab-bleugh~"

He was interrupted by a fist hitting him square on the cheek. **"Pistol"** The entirety of the room's jaws dropped as the boy's arm stretched further than should ever be possible, the momentum of it alone sending Buggy flying through the nearby door.

Mugiwara coughed up a little blood as he straightened himself , the full extent of the wound wearing down. "Damnit he got me good." He pondered aloud "I don't think he pierced any vitals but it's still bleeding quite a lot."

"That's because you rushed in too damn fast, ahou." Zoro scolded him from a distance.

She lost her voice, the supernatural fight being too much to process in her brain. Things were complicated enough as they were, even without clowns splitting apart into pieces and straw-hat wearing criminals stretching their limbs. In the confusion her legs had given out, and now she basically had collapsed to her knees. "_How the hell did he just stretch out his arm?! That shouldn't be humanly possible! just what the hell is he?"_

She needed to calm down… She needed to focus and-

"Watch out!" She screamed when a new attacker appeared, one that had decided to ambush the Mugiwara from behind. He did neither move nor flinch however, and kept his back towards the attacker to let the initial sneak attack continue.

'_he's not even going to dodge?'_

It never connected though. Before the sword could hit its target another blocked it's path, a pitch black katana decorated with a distinct red edge.

"Attacking someone in the back isn't exactly honorable." The green-haired man spoke, now standing in-between the friend and his attacker. The uninterested expression was replaced with a serious one. "What's your name, seppuku-kun?"

"Seppuku-kun?" the acrobat asked surprised. A large blue and white checkered scarf decorated most of his lower face, while a sleeveless purple coat was worn that reached down to his knees. His hair was parallel to itself, one half being long and reaching down where the other half was shaved. A single katana was held in his hand. "It's Cabaji, and don't think I haven't recognized you Bushido-san." Wild slashes were send the swordsman's way, however he deflected them with gracious ease. "If I were to defeat you then my name will surely become better known throughout the district!"

The swordsman smirked at the challenge. "Oi boss, I'll take care of this guy. You can handle the clown."

"Yosh, I'll leave it to you." The Mugiwara replied seriously. She had to admit his persistence to keep his identity a secret was praiseworthy. Not once had the ordeal against Buggy caused him to reveal an inch of his face that was shadowed by the brim of his hat.

"That flashy fool! How dare he punch me?!" Speaking of Buggy, it seemed he had finally recovered from the previous attack. And judging by the shouting behavior that came from outside he was angry to say the least.

He walked towards the door, a little slow considering the speed he could actually travel. When passing by, he cast a glance of indifference towards her before grinning like a madman once again and bringing his attention back to the main objective.

She was confused by this, he knew she was part of a gang herself. So why did he ignore her being there? She could be considered a threat, couldn't she? What was his aim at this? Discovering it would have to wait, there was still business she had to take care of at this moment. She was in luck that, excluding herself, Buggy's group only consisted of three people. With two occupied in battle and the third waiting outside, this was the perfect moment to strike.

A whimpering sound reached Nami's ears, to which she regretted having thought to just steal money. She would have to take care of the other woman first.

Stepping outside, the expected situation was found though. Buggy's little flight lesson had presumably come to an end when he met with another building across the street, were he had left more than just a dent in the wall. People were disorientated and mostly confused because of it, and let's face it he couldn't blame them. 'T wasn't everyday people saw someone fly into a building, especially a clown for that matter. That he was now standing and rambling like a madman about killing a certain someone didn't exactly make the situation any more relaxed.

"There you are, you Mugiwara-bastard!" Buggy yelled, finally having spotted the young suit wearing man. Daggers were now placed between the space of each of his fingers "Who was it that put you up to this, was it that cat-burglar bitch?! This was all her idea, wasn't it? I never trusted that woman to begin with, should have known that a big chested broad like her would betray me! I'll make her pay real good!"

He would ignore that one, since the clown was spouting pure nonsense at the moment. He didn't know how the connection was made between him attacking the man and the cat burglar's apparent betrayal. And what did boobs have to do with betrayal anyway?

"…But before that I'll need to go through you won't I?! Because…aargh!"

"**Rankyaku**" the compressed air missile hit him full in the chest, but because of the ability he possessed merely made him split apart at contact.

"You weren't listening before were you?" the straw-hat wearer spoke with a threatening tone to the still startled clown. "Don't make me repeat myself. You attacked Baroque Works territory on my watch and now you're going to pay the price Red nose."

* * *

Cabaji could not believe how easy this was going. Their battle had just started a few moments ago and already he had the new opponent on the ropes. All he did was deflect his blows, nothing but staying on the defensive as he had no time to counter the furious blows dealt by the acrobat.

Their swords clashed together multiple times, sparks emitting every time. This wasn't worth his time. The bored expression on his face had returned as soon as their battle started, there was no strength to back up his challenge. He had known since the first strike was dealt. _'tch. Just this level of power, huh?'_

"What's wrong Bushido, you can't seem to strike back! Is my full power to much for you? Don't tell you want me to go easy on you!" He brought his sword down much harder now, striking him at full power. His visible eye widened however, when the blade was once again blocked effortlessly. Out of frustration he attempted to apply more pressure, but the sword would not budge one inch.

"That was your full power? What a bore.." The pressure was returned, but it was far greater than Cabaji's, enough to push the acrobat back a few feet.

"A bore?" He repeated after finding his balance again. People had called him a few things over the years, they had mocked his hair, maybe his stunts and even his behavior. Of course he killed all the people who had the guts to insult him, but that was a different matter. But boring, no one had ever had the courage to call his swordsmanship boring. "You... take…that …back!"

Okay that was the final straw. The scarred man lowered his sword, completely dropping his defenses in the process. "Enough of this, I'm tired now."

"Hah?" the black haired man was completely abashed by his opponents new statement. However after composing himself he said. "I see, you put all of your power into surpassing my own for a second and push me back. Such a rookie mistake you made."

"I meant I'm tired of fighting an opponent as weak as you." Bushido said bluntly. His free hand went to the hilts of the remaining swords, and for a moment it seemed like he was considering his next action. "Ittoryu should be enough to beat you… But I'll show you, just how much our power's differ." A second sword was drawn, it's unique white hilt being placed between his teeth. A third one came into his left hand, this one having a fire like edge to it.

"I heard of this" someone from the crowd said in surprise."This is the East blue's Bushido famous Santoryu style"

"**Oni**…" His arms crossed, taking on a stance he had perfected over the years.

Cabaji surged forward, rage blinding his judgment of the situation. "No matter if you use three swords or one! The outcome will be no different!"

"…**Giri!**" For an instant he vanished, before reappearing a few feet behind Cabaji. A second Three large gashes were slashed into the acrobat's torso, his vision going black as he fell to the ground.

"You're a fool" The standing swordsman muttered while sheathing his swords. "With me, the difference between using one or three swords is worlds apart."

* * *

Mohji for one was not amused. Stealing money had been a good idea for once, but it hadn't been for the big score their boss had promised. Both he and Cabaji knew the only reason Buggy was robbing the bank right now was because of his intentions with the orange-haired woman. The woman had him completely wrapped around her finger. As of how, he hadn't the slightest clue though. She had shown up a week ago at their hideout, proclaiming all sorts of sweet compliments for his red nosed boss all the while swaying her body in the most seductive manners. Throw in an extra bottle of sake and boom… Buggy's reason had completely gone out the window. And of course the decision that he had to stay in the car instead of the woman they just met hadn't been up for debate.

"you'd listen to me, wouldn't you Richie?" he spoke while patting the dashboard. "One day we'll take down Buggy and then I'll be the boss. I'll rule the entire East Blue district, something that red nosed idiot could never ac-"

A tap on the car window snapped him out of his rants. "Aaargh! B-B-Buggy-sama, I-I-I was just j-joking around and, and…Who the hell are you!" he snapped at the blonde man that had tapped.

The man only smiled and made a downward motion with his index finger. Reluctantly he lowered the window, scowling at his new visitor. "what" he grumbled, more annoyed than embarrassed.

The blonde kept smiling despite the sheep-man's obvious lack of manners. "Sorry it's just the shitty me." An unlit cigarette was brought up to attention, it being held between his index finger and thumb. "I was kind of in a hurry to when I left home, so unfortunately I have no fire to light this one. Might I use your car lighter?"

The sheep-man grumbled under his breath before reaching out to said lighter, all the while keeping his gaze on the new man. He was in a bad mood as he was and wasn't exactly in the mood for friendly conversation. And he couldn't be chatting with people anyway since any minute now Buggy and Cabaji could rush around the corner along with the orange-haired harlot. So perhaps if he kept glaring at the visitor, he would get the hint and leave after lighting that damn cancer-stick of his.

"Ah, that hits the spot" The blonde sighed in relief as his cigarette finally caught fire. "lovely weather we are having, isn't it?"

Or maybe the man would just keep on talking. Was this guy just acting stupid? The sheep-man grumbled, he didn't have time for this. "listen buddy, I'm kind of in a hurry here and I'm not in the mood for small-talk. So could you just give back my lighter and piss off?" There, he had to understand that. Being anti-social should make him get the hint.

However the man still kept his smile. "This thing?" he said "sure… Here catch." In a motion, the lighter was flicked back through the car window, dropping toward the ground, were it safely landed… right in Mohji's lap.

He screamed as the lighter burned through the fabric of his pants "Ow, what the h-"

Before the sentence could be finished a strong hand seized him by the neck, and slammed his head into the steering wheel face-first. He lost consciousness a second later.

Sanji's smile turned into a scowl before he took another drag of his freshly lit cigarette. "Tch. Why did I have to do all the boring work?"

* * *

"That kind of attack won't work on me you idiot!" Buggy yelled angrily "What part of splitting-man did you not understand!"

"Huh, cutting you really won't do any good" the Mugiwara said as if he had just noted something. "Well if I can't cut you into pieces, I'll just have to pound you into a pulp."

"As if you could you little punk! ** Bara bara ho!**" his arm launched itself straight at the boys face, which he avoided quite easily by catching the arm before impact. However the hand stuck to the arm detached itself, and not being prepared for something like that, he had barely time to dodge it.

"That ability of yours is can be a real pain you know" Mugiwara said. He could feel a small stream of blood slide down his cheek. One of the knifes had grazed his face, a shallow wound at most, but he had still hit him.

"You haven't even seen half of it asshole!" the red nose yelled. Without warning the hand made another swipe, this time striking at him from behind. Not making the same mistake twice he dodged it, before it flew back and reattached itself to Buggy.

Things were getting out of hand he noticed. Their fight was attracting attention and citizens had gathered around the area of their fight. They kept their distance, but things would get nasty soon. First off they could get seriously hurt if they got caught up in their battle. Secondly if this many people knew, the police were bound to show up soon. This needed to end as soon as possible. He ran forward, throwing a punch in his opponents direction. "**Gomu gomu no**… **Pistol!**"

"**Bara bara quick escape!**" Buggy's head split apart from his body, quickly dodging the attack. "hah, you suck Mugiwara!" he yelled, before an immense pressure in his chest knocked the air out of him.

Not having wasted any time, the raven-haired had kicked the clown full in the ribs. "**Stamp!**"

Buggy tumbled away from him, clutching his chest while panting heavily. "I'll have to admit I underestimated you kid." He said, still trying to catch his breath. "There's a lot more to you than the eye shows. But it's not enough!" The clown coughed up some blood "With that amount of power you wouldn't last a second against the true gang leaders of this town, let alone me!"

"We've fought on the same level until now." The Mugiwara stated obviously "And it's not like I've used my full power. Up to this point I've been toying with you Buggy. I've held back most of my power to avoid hurting bystanders and cause collateral damage…"

A vein popped on the clown's head, his rage reaching new levels entirely. "You have the guts to tell me, that you've been going easy on me?! I'll show you just how far you're in over your head! **Bara Bara festival!**" Buggy split apart, making the audience gasp in surprise as literary his entire body split into separated floating pieces. "How about this, you won't be able to hurt me if I've split in such tiny parts!" with that, literary every piece of Buggy went towards attacking the boy with the hat. "Now die!"

Mugiwara was unmovable as a storm of body parts flew towards him with the intent to kill, an undeniable smirk growing on his face. "Is that all? You've just given me more targets to hit."

"eh?"

"**Gatling!**"

A barrage of punches hit Buggy almost instantly after that, multiple blows nearly hitting every target simultaneously. He couldn't react, he couldn't even see the fists that kept raining down from the other man. What the hell was with this sudden increase of power? Had he really held back this much? In desperation his attention went to the crowd, seeing as they might be his final hope. '_He had said he was holding back to avoid hurting bystanders right?'_

A scream of pain made the attack stop in its tracks. Bringing his eyes over to the source of it, his eyes widened in shock. Standing at the front of the crowd stood a boy, a disconnected hand holding a knife to his throat. "Bastard… You'd sink that low?"

"That's right" Buggy laughed when his theory was proven correct, though the pain of the previous attack was severe enough to stifle it. "I figured out your weakness... Come together!" his limbs reformed at the newly found hostage, which he made sure to keep behind, using the poor child as a shield. "You're soft! Can't hurt any innocent bystanders can you?!"

"Let him go" the raven-haired growled. "He's got nothing to do with our fight!"

"Gyhahaha, you can't get over your heart can you?" the knife was dug deeper into the child's skin, making him whimper in agony as a small stream of blood tickled down his neck. Luffy could only ground his teeth as tears started to stream down the boy's face.

"Let. Him. **go**."

"If you don't want to see this child hurt you'd better keep still! Your power surprised me, but in the end it just turns out you don't have what it takes!"

A pressure hit him full to on the back almost immediately after that, enough to make him loosen his grip for just a second. Thieves hands quickly swooped in and an instant later Buggy had lost his hostage to the new attacker. Realization struck a second later as a lock of orange hair came into view. It was the cat burglar, the woman for whom he had robbed this bank for in the first place. And in her hand she dragged along by the collar of his shirt the clown's ticket to freedom, namely the child he had snatched a few moments ago. "So you betrayed me after all, you bitch!"

She couldn't believe how low those criminals would sink just to keep themselves from getting hurt. Robbing banks, committing crimes and then letting other people take the pain they deserved. It didn't matter who they were or how trustworthy they seemed, in the end they would always turn out to be just like Buggy, just like _him_. With a quick swipe the kid was thrown back into the crowd, where luckily people were able to catch him. Keeping him close would only bring more harm towards the kid than permit safety. Judging by the clown's rage filled expression he was going after her now.

She was proven correct.

His hand shot out, the knife aimed at her back. She jumped aside at the last second to avoid it, but having it come as a surprise she couldn't move aside quickly enough. She hissed in pain and had to stifle a scream as the blade cut through her skin, ripped away at the soft muscle of her heel. "Damnit" she cursed after she fell quite ungraciously on her bum. Buggy finally managed to hit target.

"It's already too late to make excuses." He said while looming over her, the evil grin on his face present. It seemed to widen as his hand reattached itself. "Attacking me, betraying me after all I've done for you. I'm going to cut you up real nice girly…"

She planted the heel of her foot firmly between his eyes, ignoring the terrible pain it caused her leg. "Who the hell would ever apologize to someone like you asshole! What kind of coward uses children as a shield to protect himself?!"

The clown stumbled back, the pointy high-heel she had kicked him with leaving quite a painful mark on his face. "Vile Whore, I'll rip your guts out!" He brought his arm forward again, ready to launch it at her.

Her eyes widened in shock, she wouldn't be able to dodge if he was at this range.

"Die!"

In a flash Mugiwara appeared between them, both his arms stretched backwards. "You should focus on your opponent 'Red nose.'" He said, a voice completely filled with hatred toward the opponent. He had seen enough. Both arms shot forward, the open palms slamming into Buggy's chest with bone shattering momentum, enough to send the man flying. "**Bazooka!**"

Buggy coughed up a considerable amount of blood as the single attack of power hit him full on, and made him soar throughout the air. He flew past buildings, the last noting that he was airborne before everything went black.

She was frozen for a second, not being able to speak. She knew he was strong, that much was obvious, but launching people into the sky was something she hadn't seen happen before. She looked at the man before her, the hat still managing shield off his identity, his black coat flowing ever so graciously in the small breeze. He almost seemed like some sort of a hero in that moment. "T-thanks, you saved my life." She finally managed to mutter out.

"Ah, don't mention it." He didn't turn to face her immediately, but kept his eyes on the direction Buggy had flown off to. He felt a rather faint disappointment that the attack had sent the opponent flying that far. He lingered for a moment, before turning towards her. Looking closer now he could see her damaged leg. "Are you hurt?"

'_What does he care?'_ She only shook her head though, he had saved her after all so she at least owed to tell him he did a good job. "It's only a scratch" she said. A flat out lie, but it wasn't like she would be needing his help... again.

"That's good to hear" he said, smiling a bit relieved at her. She had impressed him again, not only taking the risk of protecting an innocent bystander, a child for that matter, but also attacking a gang leader like Buggy without a second of hesitation. She was stunning, a beautiful woman with the potential to manipulate even gang leaders and having the brains and brawl to back up her behavior. And to top it off she had a kind heart underneath. How truly interesting she was. Almost too good to be a criminal.

She was completely caught off guard when he smiled at her. There seemed to be no madness or taunting towards it and was meant to be joyful. But it didn't feel completely honest either, if almost a bit forced. Looking a bit upwards their eyes met, and she had to hold back the sharp intake of breath as her brown orbs stared into charcoal ones. Instead of the lifeless or cold eyes she had expected from him, they seemed warm and almost a bit kind towards her. She felt like she could drown in those black voids, they felt so secure and even inviting. She wouldn't mind staring into them for just a few more moments.

Wait a minute… She was staring at him? She could look him in the eyes? She mentally slapped herself for just realizing that his face was now in full view. And she recognized him. The raven-black hair, the small scar under his eye… it was unmistakable. It was the same person she had met in the bus earlier today, the guy that had laughed at her fit in the school corridors. "Y-you!" she shrieked in astonishment.

His eyes widened at the realization of his blunder. "Crap"

* * *

**And that's chapter three, ain't I a motherf*cker with those cliffhangers. **

**Did you like this chapter, favorite and/or decide to follow it. Thought something was off or do you just feel like giving feedback? Leave a review, they are always appreciated. **

**On to the chapter. **

**First off, let me apologize to Sanji for not letting him fight this chapter… but hey he never did so in the actual series at this point, so I thought to keep that the same way. Also if people are wondering where Richie (Mohji's lion) was, I made him a car, because where the hell would you hide a giant lion in a city? And I kind of got the idea from Logue Town, where Mohji rides the lion like a motorcycle.**

**Zoro calling Cabaji Seppuku-kun. Seppuku is the art of suicide originally reserved for samurai to die with honor, or to commit suicide if they commit an act that is completely dishonorable. By attacking Luffy in the back he is being dishonorable, so I kinda made the joke that Zoro gives him a nickname suggesting he should just end his life for being a dishonorable swordsman. **

**Also about Nami discovering his identity, I had in mind to make some big reveal, him finally exposing himself as the crime lord known as the Mugiwara after countless of meeting occasions. But that's kind of weird isn't it. It would be more like Luffy to just screw up, and accidently have him reveal his secret identity to her. Yeah I know what you're going to say about my story not really portraying an in character Luffy, but hey I have a reason for that. Wanna know why? Ya gotta be patient and let me think of it myself.**

**If you want me to add the list of attacks this chapter, I'll do it later. Right now I'm just really tired. Peace off. **


End file.
